One of the never-before-seen iPhone features that the iPhone 6 will be able to deliver is NFC-based wireless payments. As many reports have detailed, Apple has already inked deals with major card providers including American Express, MasterCard and Visa. But that’s not the only kind of deals Apple made ahead of its wireless payments attack, as Bank Innovation reveals that the iPhone maker has already reached deals with five major financial institutions including American Express, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Capital One and Bank of America to lower card transaction fees for the upcoming iPhone 6 feature.
According to the report, Apple managed to convince these banks to treat iPhone 6 wireless payments as “card present” transactions (just like when a customer actually uses a physical credit or debit card in stores) rather than “card not present” transactions (when a customer uses a card for online purchases). Thus, the fees associated with “card present” transactions will be less expensive for Apple.
Furthermore, Apple has managed to lower the “card present” fee by 15 to 25 basis points, which could help the company save millions on the fees it’ll have to pay to card issues and networks.
As for the iPhone 6 or iWatch owner who wants to use these devices to pay for goods in stores, he or she will be happy to know that all his or her physical cards will be compatible with the service.
Despite being late to the mobile payments game, Apple is expected to make them “cool,” something that hasn’t happened yet even though many other smartphone makers have included support for wireless payments in their mobile devices for a few years.
